1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to credit cards.
2. Prior Art
A credit card is typically embossed with three items of essential information: an account number, a cardholder""s name, and an expiration date that includes the month and year of expiration. An example of an expiration date is June 1998. Some cards also show a beginning date in combination with the expiration date to represent a valid period, wherein the beginning month and ending month are usually the same. For example, February 1996 thru February 1998. The expiration date or valid period is selected by the issuing bank or institution.
A sales slip for a credit card sale is also printed with the same essential information. Credit card transactions can be made through the telephone or the Internet by using this information. Since the essential information is shown on credit cards and sales slips, cardholders are exposed to fraudulent use of their accounts whenever their cards or sales slips fall into the wrong hands.
Various improved credit cards and methods are known in the prior art for preventing credit card fraud. U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,291 to Gustafson discloses a credit card which must be enabled by a separate mechanical key lock. U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,273 to Leslie discloses a credit card with encrypted personal information on the cardholder. U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,881 to Mannik discloses a credit card magnetically written with multiple expiration dates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,365,046 to Haymann discloses a credit card associated with a personal identification number, which must be verified before a transaction can be completed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,098 to Dahbura discloses a credit card system which uses an encryption algorithm to generate a first encoded text from the card number and a password supplied by the user. The card user is verified by comparing the first encoded text with an encoded text recorded on the card. U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,087 to Quintana discloses a credit card with a keyboard and a microprocessor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,453 to Shapiro et al. discloses a credit card with auxiliary characters and corresponding dates at which each of the characters should be used. U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,017 to Lopata discloses a credit card with a hologram.
All the prior art cards and methods require substantial changes in the structure of the card, and/or the method of conducting transactions. Since the introduction of a new card and/or transaction method require the participation of all merchants, banks, and users, the obstacle to widespread adoption is immense.
Accordingly, the objectives of the present credit card security method are:
to prevent fraudulent transactions that may result from unauthorized possession of lost or stolen credit cards or sale slips; and
to require very minor changes to the credit cards and transaction method to substantially reduce the obstacle to widespread adoption.
Further objectives of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
The present credit card security method comprises establishing a credit card account with an account number, a cardholder""s name, and an expiration date comprising an expiration month and an expiration year. The expiration month is the cardholder""s birth month, and the expiration year is selected by the issuing institution of the card. The account number, cardholder""s name, and expiration year are displayed on the credit card and sale slip. Although the expiration month is not displayed on the credit card or the sale slip, it is still required for completing a credit card transaction. The cardholder can verbally provide the expiration month to a sales clerk, and can personally enter it into a computer in an Internet transaction. Although the expiration month must be memorized by the cardholder, it is easy to remember because it is the cardholder""s birth month. The method merely involves deleting an item of information from the credit card and sale slip, so that it is extremely easy to implement. An unauthorized user with possession of the credit card or sale slip cannot acquire the expiration date and therefore cannot complete a transaction. In a second embodiment, a beginning date is also associated with the card to define a valid period in combination with the expiration date. The beginning year is shown on the card with the expiration year, but the beginning month is not shown. The beginning month is also the cardholder""s birth month.